LAPLACE, Louisiana – A bus driven by an illegal immigrant full of foreign workers headed to aid the Baton Rouge, Louisiana flood victims crashed in a horrific accident that killed at least two people and left 41 injured.
Denis Yasmir Amaya Rodriguez, a 37 year-old illegal immigrant from Honduras, was booked by Louisiana State Police on two counts of negligent homicide, negligent injuring, reckless operation and driving without a license, after he admitted to police that he was in the country illegally.
Authorities were investigating a small car crash where a Nissan Titan lost control and plunged into the left side of an Interstate 10 guardrail, according to the Advocate. The crash caused minor injuries to the driver and passenger, according to The Advocate. As State Police and a St. John’s Parish fire crew responded to the accident, the bus Rodriguez was driving reportedly traveled directly into the scene of the minor accident at an excessive speed; crashing into the fire truck and then hitting another vehicle which caused a car pile-up. The bus veered into the right lane, hitting three firemen who were investigating the original car wreck, bolting them nearly 30 to 40 feet over the guardrail and into the water below them.
The three firefighters were rescued by a ladder out of the canals by other first responders.
Tragically, 36 year-old St. John District Fire Chief Spencer Chauvin of Gramercy, Louisiana was killed, as well as 21 year-old Jermaine Starr of Moss Point, Mississippi, who was in another vehicle that was hit by Rodriguez’s bus.
A colleague of Chauvin’s posted a heart-felt status to his Facebook page in the wake of the tragedy.
“Today, our community lost one of the bravest souls, a model citizen and one of its most dedicated servants,” Adam Tamplain wrote on Facebook. “In my 10 years in the department, I had the honor of serving alongside and under Spencer. … Rest easy brother, we’ll take it from here.”
The foreign individuals on the bus received minor injuries from the crash, along with 32 year-old Nicholas Saale and 35 year-old William Mack Beal.
Beal was treated and has already been released from the hospital, but Saale was airlifted to University Medical Center in New Orleans after the crash where he remains in critical, but stable condition.
Authorities said they are still unsure which construction company hired the passengers on the bus headed to Baton Rouge.
Even more questions surround Rodriguez’s immigration status, however. The Advocate reports that the illegal immigrant’s neighbors said he was living in an apartment outside of New Orleans, where he worked for construction companies.
Court records obtained by The Advocate show Rodriguez was actually pulled over in the area on August 5 for driving without a license, though his immigration status was apparently not looked into.
A spokesperson with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have not commented on the details of Rodriguez’s immigration status or the status of the other foreign workers on the bus.
John Binder is a contributor for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.
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